DISH Network (NASDAQ:DISH) today announced that it has appointed Steven Swain to lead its Programming Group. Mr. Swain, formerly a vice president of DISH’s Corporate Finance Group, is being promoted to senior vice president.

DISH has also announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) David Shull will begin a six-month leave of absence May 31 to assist with the care of a family member.

“I have worked closely with Steve for the past three years and I have every confidence that he has the leadership skills, the experience and tenacity to lead our programing operation with excellence,” said DISH President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph P. Clayton. “As our CCO, Dave has delivered tremendous achievements for DISH, including the leadership needed to establish a groundbreaking partnership with The Walt Disney Co. He has our support and we are already looking forward to his return.”

Mr. Swain will report directly to Mr. Clayton, as will Mr. Shull’s team during his absence, including James Moorhead, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Warren Schlichting, senior vice president of media sales and analytics and Vivek Khemka, senior vice president of product management.

In his new role, Mr. Swain will be responsible for the acquisition and renewal of programming content, including national network and cable channels, Latino content, local broadcast stations and premium services such as HBO, Showtime and Starz.

About Steve Swain, SVP Programming

Prior to joining DISH in 2011 as vice president of Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis, Mr. Swain spent 10 years at CenturyLink (formerly Qwest Communications) where he served in multiple leadership roles in that organization’s Finance and Network Engineering organizations.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin and his MBA from the University of Chicago.

About DISH

DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), through its subsidiary DISH Network L.L.C., provides approximately 14.057 million pay-TV subscribers, as of Dec. 31, 2013, with the highest quality programming and technology with the most choices at the best value. Subscribers enjoy a high definition line-up with more than 200 national HD channels, the most international channels, and award-winning HD and DVR technology. DISH Network Corporation is a Fortune 200 company. Visit www.dish.com.